The use of computer systems and computer-related technologies continues to increase at a rapid pace. This increased use of computer systems has influenced the advances made to computer-related technologies. Indeed, computer systems have increasingly become an integral part of the business world and the activities of individual consumers. Computer systems may be used to carry out several business, industry, and academic endeavors. The wide-spread use of computers has been accelerated by the increased use of computer networks, including the Internet.
Many businesses use one or more computer networks to communicate and share data between the various computers connected to the networks. The productivity and efficiency of employees often requires human and computer interaction. Users of computer technologies continue to demand that the efficiency of these technologies increase. Improving the efficiency of computer technologies is important to anyone who uses and relies on computers.
As previously mentioned, computer networks may be used to communicate and share data between the various computers connected to the networks. In some instances, the shared data may be identified with a uniform resource locator (URL) that provides an address or location for the data. In one example, a user may be presented with a URL on a display of the computer. The user may view the URL and desire to access the data, file, program, etc. represented by the presented URL. In some cases, the presented URL may be different than the actual URL. As a result, when the user clicks on the presented URL, data associated with the actual URL may be accessed. In some examples, the actual URL may be associated with malware or other undesired data that may harm or affect the functionality of the user's computer. Accordingly, benefits may be realized by providing systems and methods for detecting a potentially malicious URL.